


act one, scene one

by playthetyrants



Series: all the world is a stage [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: First Meetings, M/M, This is a prequel, actually not really, idk what to call this, it's cute though, they're at LAX, uh fluff i guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 19:26:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8460130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/playthetyrants/pseuds/playthetyrants
Summary: “That’s alright…” he mused, before shoving his hand out towards Louis suddenly. “I’m Harry, Harry Styles.”Louis narrowed his eyes a bit in confusion, wondering as to why he needed to know his name, but reached out and took his hand nonetheless. “Louis Tomlinson.”Harry smiled softly at him, shaking his hand before letting go, dropping it limply to rest back at his side. “Again, I’m really sorry about waking you...do you happen to know anything about the area here?” Louis felt slightly annoyed again, wondering how on Earth someone who had just flown in from London for the first time would know how to get around Los Angeles. Then again, Harry had no idea about that.“I don’t, actually...I just flew in for the first time,” he admitted, sitting up a bit straighter to look Harry in the eye. His smile suddenly grew, suddenly dropping his bag on the ground before sitting down on the floor in front of him.“So did I!” he exclaimed, and Louis really could not handle the sudden sparkle that overtook his eyes. or, the one where Harry and Louis meet for the first time in an airport.





	

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! this is pretty short, but i planned on using it for a short story in my creative writing college class (after changing the names of course!) and i know a lot of people were wanting further details about how Harry and Louis met before point me toward tomorrow happened. so, here you go!  
> i hope you enjoy :)

In all honestly, Louis Tomlinson had never been terribly familiar with airports. His family was never the kind to fly out on holidays or go on family trips in the summer; they simply just couldn’t afford it. 

But for some reason (and Louis can sincerely trace this back to his own stubbornness but will never admit to it), he thought he could manage his way around the highly famous, highly populated LAX airport in California as soon as he landed. Typical Tomlinson for you. 

He felt someone brush past him and hit his shoulder rather hard, sending his phone flying out of his hands and onto the shiny linoleum airport floor, Louis grimacing in the process. He looked up briefly at the oncoming swarm of people that were exiting a terminal to his right before stepping forward quickly and rescuing his phone before making a beeline for the opposing wall, tightening his grip on his backpack handle as he did. Despite it being almost 3 am, the airport was as alive as ever, little kids running past him dragging multicolored suitcases and exhausted looking parents chasing after them. He flickered his cerulean blue eyes across the hall in front of him, spotting an old couple slowly but surely making their way to their own terminal, boarding passes in hand. He swallowed thickly, a strange sense of homesickness mixed with the heavy feeling of travelling alone hitting him suddenly like a battering ram; he quickly slid his backpack down his arm and onto the ground beside him, sitting down gently against the back of a wall. 

Louis swallowed again, ignoring the growing lump in his throat before looking down at his phone, brushing his fingers across it to clean off any dirt or dust, thankful to see the screen hadn’t cracked. He clicked his home button, chewing his lip slightly at his wallpaper, a bright photo of him and all six of his siblings smiling back at him. They’d taken that yesterday, before he’d left for his flight, and suddenly all he wanted was to be back in Doncaster. 

Eyes stinging, he shoved his hand into his backpack and quickly produced his phone charger, unwrapping it before plugging it into the outlet beside him, tapping his finger gently against the side of his phone. 

‘This was it,’ he mused quietly to himself. ‘This is your new start, your new beginning. All of your hard work in university is going to pay off soon enough.’ Another little kid ran past him, nearly colliding with his feet, and he pulled his legs up quickly as a distraught young woman ran after her, waving a teddy bear blindly in her direction. He smiled a bit, leaning his head against the wall and running his fingers through his hair, yawning slightly. He wondered idly if he was going to have the same effect on teenage students as he did with little kids; they always liked him, but Americans were very different from Europeans. Besides, it was too late now to think about it anyway; he was here now, school was starting in a month, and he’d have no choice to deal with them, even if they do turn out to be complete assholes. 

The constant calling out of flight numbers from over the speakers above him were no match for the sudden onslaught of fatigue that overtook him suddenly, the reality of everything seeming to him at once. He yawned again, reaching once more into his back for his Adidas jacket before wrapping it around him, his eyes already drooping with sleep. It wouldn’t hurt to catch up on his sleep; his Uber was scheduled for 9 am, 6 hours from now. He yanked his backpack back over, shoving it beneath his legs to protect it and clutching his phone to his chest before closing his eyes, chin falling to rest on top of his chest, dozing off almost immediately. 

Now, in the Tomlinson household, it was always an unspoken rule that no one ever woke Louis up for anything unless it was a dire emergency. In his book, sleep was the only time he had to escape his family for a while, or take a break from all of the grueling school work in uni. He’d never been able to get enough of it, but he cherished it when he could. Of course, not everyone in the world knew this rule. 

Especially not the young man with the long, curly hair that was gently shaking his shoulder right now. 

Louis jumped awake immediately, his eyes flying open and he saw the man jump back quickly, pulling his hand back and straightening up, a strange, guilty grimace on his face.

“I’m sorry…” he whispered, and Louis was about to glare at him until he heard his thick English accent. Still frowning, he rubbed his eyes for a moment, still trying to wake up before finally meeting his eyes, his heart suddenly skipping a beat at the vibrant green color. 

“Why are you whispering?” he snapped suddenly, pushing his feelings aside as the man shuffled a bit nervously on his feet, hopping back and forth in his brown suede boots. 

“I don’t know,” he confessed, clearing his throat as he clutched idly onto the strap of his shoulder bag. Louis tilted his head up, squinting slightly against the lights to finally get a good look at him. 

He was...well, fit to say the least. He was wearing a pair of dark skinny jeans that Louis would argue were painted on his legs, they were so tight. He had on a large, slightly see through black t-shirt on, a long silver cross necklace dangling in the middle of his chest. He had a hunter green jacket tucked over the top of his shoulder bag and a pair of ridiculous looking white sunglasses perched on the top of his head, his long brown curls falling slightly past his shoulders. He was still wearing a guilty look on his face, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind his ear and Louis suddenly noticed the wide array of rings on his fingers. 

“I wasn’t going to wake you, but then I saw that you were sitting across from the London terminal and figured you might’ve come from there like me, and maybe you’d be able to help me find something…” He was rambling now, and Louis could tell he was nervous and embarrassed, but his voice was...strange. It was deep and his accent was thick, and although Louis knew he was meaning to speak fast it just wasn’t coming out that way. Everything he said seemed to take time, slow and thick like molasses, and honestly it was absolutely fascinating. 

He didn’t even realize he was staring, not to mention the fact that his mouth was slightly agape. The man blinked uncomfortably at him, and for a few seconds Louis did nothing. The man looked awkwardly back down at the ground, his cheeks reddening slightly before Louis snapped back to reality, coughing loudly and blinking, shaking his head a bit. 

“Sorry, I...I’m still waking up…” He rubbed at his eyes for good measure, peeking in between fingers to see the man perk up slightly. 

“That’s alright…” he mused, before shoving his hand out towards Louis suddenly. “I’m Harry, Harry Styles.” 

Louis narrowed his eyes a bit in confusion, wondering as to why he needed to know his name, but reached out and took his hand nonetheless. “Louis Tomlinson.” 

Harry smiled softly at him, shaking his hand before letting go, dropping it limply to rest back at his side. “Again, I’m really sorry about waking you...do you happen to know anything about the area here?” Louis felt slightly annoyed again, wondering how on Earth someone who had just flown in from London for the first time would know how to get around Los Angeles. Then again, Harry had no idea about that. 

“I don’t, actually...I just flew in for the first time,” he admitted, sitting up a bit straighter to look Harry in the eye. His smile suddenly grew, suddenly dropping his bag on the ground before sitting down on the floor in front of him. 

“So did I!” he exclaimed, and Louis really could not handle the sudden sparkle that overtook his eyes. He blinked slowly at Harry, opening and closing his mouth a couple times before plastering on what he hoped was a smile. 

“Fantastic!” he mused, fidgeting around in his spot slightly before he watched Harry’s face fall. 

“Oh….God, I’m sorry…” He shook his head quickly, suddenly pushing himself back up to stand. “I uh...I do that, I get called too friendly a lot. I just, like...spring myself on people…” Louis frowned suddenly, the sheer despair in his voice sending a sinking feeling to his stomach and for some reason, the last thing Louis wanted to see was this stranger get upset. 

“No no, it’s fine!” Louis found himself standing up almost immediately, ignoring the dizzying rush he got to his head and then suddenly his hand was on Harry’s arm, gripping onto his skin tightly and praying to God he wouldn’t try and leave. 

Thankfully, Harry gave him a soft, slightly apologetic smile in return, his cheeks still pink and for some reason Louis’ heart was pounding uncomfortably in his chest, right against his ribcage. He dropped his hand after a moment, his fingers probably lingering against his skin a bit too long but if Harry noticed, he didn’t say anything. 

“I’m hoping to jumpstart my music career here...for songwriting, not singing,” he added hastily, as if he were afraid Louis would flash him another judging look. But all Louis really wanted to do was listen to this weird, quirky stranger talk. 

“I got a job teaching theatre at a high school downtown...it’s my first time in America, and my first time teaching, I just finished school…” He wasn’t exactly sure why he was telling him all of this, but Harry seemed like a very trustworthy person in the few minutes he had known him. Harry’s eyes widened in surprise, raising his eyebrows. 

“That’s amazing! I was terrified to come here, but you seem like you’ve got everything planned out…” Louis gave him a wry smile, tilting his head to the side slightly. 

“Who said I wasn’t scared? I miss my mum already.” That got a laugh out of him, and Louis was shocked to hear his slightly high pitched giggle, more like a cackle if he was being honest. Louis’ grin grew as Harry slapped his other heavily ringed hand across his mouth, blinking quickly. 

“Oh Jesus, strangers aren’t supposed to hear my laugh,” he moaned miserably, and Louis smirked, shaking his head. 

“Don’t worry; it was cute.” As soon as it came out of his mouth Louis felt himself blanch. He blinked rapidly, his mouth falling open slightly as he felt his cheeks heat up almost immediately. Had he seriously just called this weird man’s laugh cute? 

Harry, however, looked amused; he flashed another slightly crooked grin in Louis’ direction, revealing shiny white teeth and dimples so deep and large Louis could probably sleep in them. His heart rate sped back up, and Louis kept stumbling over words for a few more seconds before Harry cut him off. 

“Thanks, Louis. Means a lot.” Louis merely stared blankly back at him, not even registering the fact that Harry had slid down on the floor beside him, pulling his phone from his pocket and unlocking it with his thumb. “I guess I’ll have to rely on Google since you’re completely useless with directions, eh?” 

It took him a couple more seconds but then Louis was clearing his throat once more, pursing his lips slightly and putting on a disinterested face, scoffing at him as he slid down against the wall to sit back down beside him. 

“I’m not completely useless; I made it here, didn’t I?” Harry grinned again, shaking his head as began typing away at his phone, and Louis tried to ignore the sudden flip his stomach did at how the top of his shirt was slipping off one shoulder, revealing part of what seemed to be a bird tattoo. 

“Correction; your plane made it here. All you had to do was get on it,” Harry mused, lifting his head up to look around. “You think there’d be a damn map around here, my apartment is supposedly only a few blocks away…” 

Louis rolled his foot back and forth slightly, his hands resting in his lap as he watched Harry squint his eyes, scanning the area around him as if a map were going to pop out of nowhere. He found himself scanning his face, his eyes tracing over the few freckles that littered his pale skin, the way his nose looked silhouetted against the harsh airport lighting, and finally upon his lips. They were...well, perfect was the only word Louis could use to describe them. His bottom lip was slightly bigger and curved delicately, his top lip a perfect cupid’s bow. They were a dark pink color, almost obscenely pink, and Louis found himself suddenly wondering what it might be like to kiss them. 

“...Louis? Are you even hearing me?” A sudden wave of a huge hand in front of his face brought Louis back to his senses, blinking rapidly and trying his best to fight back the warm feeling that was overtaking his cheeks once more. 

“I...I’m sorry, what did you say?” he asked bluntly, rubbing nervously at the back of his neck as Harry raised an incredulous but nonetheless clueless eyebrow at him before looking back at his phone. 

“1724 Jackson Street...that’s where my flat is,” he repeated, meeting Louis’ eyes once more. “Any idea where that might be?” Louis merely blinked at him for a moment before shaking his head, his hands falling back into his lap. 

“No…” he replied, watching quietly as Harry shrugged, placing his large palms on the cold tile floor to stand. 

 

“No matter; I just got an Uber to take me there.” He smiled, standing up straight and bending backwards for a moment, stretching out as back as Louis felt himself go a bit numb.  
This man, this beautiful, strange, sweet stranger of a man was about to get in an Uber and go off to his new flat, leaving Louis behind for probably forever, knowing for damn sure you’d probably never run into the same people in Los Angeles again. 

“Oh good, I’m glad…” he managed out, flashing Harry a grin that most likely resembled a grimace. Harry cocked his head to the side, the strap of his bag already resting back on his shoulder. 

“Do I detect a hint of sadness, friend?” he mused, and Louis felt another flare up of frustration and pure embarrassment flare up inside of his belly. 

“You detect me still being pissed off that you woke me from my nap,” Louis snapped loudly, causing a few people walking by to shoot him a dirty look. 

Harry, however, merely smiled in return, tapping his phone against his thigh for a few seconds more. “When did you say you were going to your flat again?” Louis huffed a bit, looking pointedly away as he pulled his legs up and crossed them childishly, staring at nothing in particular. 

“I didn’t, but it’s around 9 am. My landlord said he’d meet me then to give me my key,” he retorted, his foot tapping loudly against the floor as he bounced it mercilessly, trying not to focus on the fact that Harry Styles was causing him a nervous breakdown at the moment, after knowing him for maybe 20 minutes. 

He heard Harry hum in acknowledgement, turning his head slightly to the side to watch him gaze around the airport for a moment more. 

“Well, I don’t know about you, but sleeping in airports isn’t really my cup of tea, especially on these nasty floors.” Louis narrowed his eyes at him, opening his mouth to shut him up once more but Harry clucked his tongue suddenly, cutting him off. “I have a spare bedroom in my flat. Planned on using it for visiting friends, but...you’re more than welcome to use it.” 

Louis jerked his head around quickly, fully meeting his eyes now. His heart was racing furiously against his ribcage once more, his mouth suddenly dry and he felt like he’d forgotten how to speak. He blinked a few more times, unable to respond, and Harry simply kept smiling at him, his dimples appearing once more as he swayed slightly on his feet.

“I mean...I consider us friends now, no?” he pressed on, causing Louis’ head to spin even more. God damn him, Louis was 25 years old and about to go into cardiac arrest because of this man. He merely stared at him in response, Harry smirking slightly and shrugging. 

“No worries, Lou. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again sometime.” And then suddenly he was walking away. 

Now, to be quite honest, Louis hadn’t ever been the kind of person that froze up in strange or difficult situations. He was always very calm and collected, taking the silent route rather than panicking about something or acting recklessly on a whim. But for some reason, in a freezing cold terminal in LAX at 4 something in the morning, Louis couldn’t move. It was as if his body had been turned to stone except for his eyes, which were now watching this beautiful man walk away from him, set to disappear into the huge, moving crowd of people in front of, like a tragic hero walking to his death. 

He heard his own voice in his head, screaming at him to stop him, but his mouth failed to move. All he could do was watch Harry’s curly head disappear, and then suddenly everything was catching back up to him again. The loud sounds of flight numbers being called overhead brought him back to his senses, and before he knew it he found himself scrambling up from his spot on the floor, shoving all of his things back into his backpack before taking off, his shoes squeaking and his voice fighting to be heard above the crowd. 

“Harry! Wait, I’m coming!” And really, he didn’t know why he was. He had no idea who this man was, had no idea why he was quite literally tripping and falling over people to get to him, had no idea why the prospect of spending more time with him was enticing enough to have him drop everything and run. He finally broke through the crowd and made it to the front doors, pushing them open to reveal a long sidewalk, the dark sky lit up with the large amount of cars parked out front, some honking frantically and others flashing their lights. He looked around wildly for a second, his stomach sinking somewhere down to his feet as he struggled to spot Harry’s curly locks once more before he caught sight of him once more, his large arm waving wildly in his direction. 

“Come on!” he called out loudly, his other arm gripping the top of a car door, half of his body already inside. Louis couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face, cold relief washing over him as he jogged over to meet him, quickly tossing his bag inside before sliding past him and getting in. 

There were some things, Louis imagined, that you couldn’t really realize were incredibly stupid until you were in the middle of doing them. This was most definitely one of those things. 

“I’ll bet you’re taking me to your place to murder me,” Louis mused halfway through their 10 minute ride, Harry rolling his eyes as he typed away on his phone, refusing to look up. 

“If I wanted to murder you, I wouldn’t do it in my brand new flat,” he retorted, Louis squinting his eyes slightly at him before turning back forward, meeting the driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror. 

“If I turn up dead tomorrow, you’ll know what happened.” Harry snorted loudly, shaking his head and burying his face in his hands for a moment, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter for a moment. Louis grinned despite himself, glancing down at him for a moment before looking back outside, biting his lip rather harshly. 

Harry finally composed himself, leaning back against his seat once more, still giggling slightly. “I’m gonna have to keep you around, Tomlinson,” he mused, and Louis was suddenly extremely thankful that it was dark outside. 

When they were dropped off, Louis squinted off into the distance down the street, reading “JACKSON ST.” in big white lettering. Harry graciously thanked the man at least 5 times, Louis watching as he drove off, messing with his hands a bit awkwardly as Harry rummaged around his bag. 

“Ah, here’s the key…” He pulled out a small key ring, dangling it in front of Louis almost tauntingly. “I’ve actually never been inside, only seen it online and such. What a beautiful moment we’re sharing together,” he teased, stepping in front of him to unlock the door. Louis managed a soft laugh, wondering again how in God’s name he’d gotten himself into this situation once more. 

Once inside, they hiked up a few flights of stairs due to the elevator being repaired and Louis couldn’t help but giggle at Harry’s heavy breathing as he finally made it to his door.  
“Do they not work out where you live?” Louis asked, laughing again as Harry flipped him off. 

“Oh, piss off. Cheshire is where all the old people live, no one does anything there!” Louis smiled, scrunching up his nose fondly as Harry finally got the key in the hole, turning it and opening the door. 

“Welcome home!” he joked loudly, spinning around for dramatic effect. 

Home. 

Louis had no idea then that his forever home was found that day, inside of a man with curly brown hair, cloudy green eyes and a smile that could light up a room for days. 

He grinned in response to him, walking forward and dropping his bag on the floor, meeting his eyes. 

“Are you gonna murder me now?” he asked, watching Harry drop his extended arms back down at his side, finally coming to stop and stand in front of him. 

“Nah,” he mused, shoving his keys into his pocket. “Think I’d like to kiss you, though.” 

And really, Louis didn’t mind that at all.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! please leave comments/kudos. twitter is @fingerkisslou!  
> all the love as always xxx


End file.
